A Good Day for Music

Not many people realize that this song was actually written and first recorded by another artist in the mid-sixties before it became the chart-topping, definitive version in 1971.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Mr. Bo Jangles

A song that was written by country artist Jerry Jeff Walker who wrote the song in the mid-sixties that saw modest success when it was released in 1968. The song stems from a real-life event that has become a legendary story.

Jerry was traveling through New Orleans and had a few too many adult beverages for local authorities and found himself in jail. His cellmate was an older black gentleman who worked as a street dancer, where the two struck up a conversation. He told Jerry about his life. He said that he never forgot about that night and the man he spent time as a guest of the county.

In a later interview, Jerry said that “While the world was listening to The Beatles, I was scribbling out the lyrics to a song about an old man and hope.”

As you know, the Dirt Band had the most success with it where it showed up on music charts around the world and has crossed over to many other radio formats.